Germany orders 120mm MBT practice ammo
Rheinmetall has received a contract worth $28.6 million from the German Bundeswehr to supply new 120mm DM98 practice ammunition for main battle tanks, the company announced on 3 November.
This is the German Army’s first order of the new full-calibre 120mm practice ammunition.
Rheinmetall willl manufacture and deliver 10,000 rounds of DM98 ammunition, which will be delivered to Bundeswehr before the end of 2017. The company expects to receive an order for a further 3,200 cartridges at the beginning of 2018, with delivery taking place in the first quarter of the year.
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition developed the 120mm full-calibre round as a successor to the earlier DM18. Characteristics of the new cartridge include a geometry and length comparable to the DM18 and above average accuracy even at ranges exceeding 2,000m. It also features a tracer function that provides steady visibility in all light conditions.
The new round, initially known as the RH88, was qualified in 2015 for all variants of Leopard 2 main armament, with Denmark serving as the pilot customer. In 2016, it was successfully qualified with a second packaging system by the Bundeswehr and was introduced as the DM98.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Hanwha contracted to develop radar for South Korean missile defence
Hanwha will develop the multi-function radar of the Low Altitude Missile Defense (LAMD), work which is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2028.
-
Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system
Pulsar-L has already entered service and weighs about 12kg with range of 5km. It was only in May last year that the company disclosed that earlier versions were already in service.
-
Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine
The new platform was designed to provide 1KW of exportable power as standard and has been developed in partnership with the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
British Army details Ajax plans
Of the six variants in the Ajax programme – reconnaissance (Ajax), reconnaissance support (Ares), C2 (Athena), equipment repair (Apollo), equipment recovery (Atlas) and engineering reconnaissance (Argus) – the Ajax reconnaissance version is now entering service.